engine swap?

[stred]

I have head gasket problems, renewed the gasket last year and all was good for 6 months but its returned.

we have decided that we couldnt get anything else thats like the galaxy without spending a couple of thousand, which we dont have.

im considering swapping the engine for a low mileage unit, 2 options i see.

1) various listings on ebay offer a drive in drive out service for around a Ã,£1k, anybody had any experience with these offerings.

2) Get and fit a low mileage unit myself, well within my capabilities, but need clafication about how the engine comes out, i.e above, below, front crossmember removal?

any thoughts and opinions welcome, the car is not in the best shape but we love it, ive considered 807's and c8's and espaces but there reliability is always questionable

thanks
scott

[Chrispb]

Hello Scott  to the forum

Just curious did you have the head skimmed when you last changed the gasket as there's usually some slight warp and corrosion.
Also make sure that engine water pump & run on pump are working, as a faulty pumps can lead to overheating and premature gasket failure.

[stred]

hi,

no skimming, general information was skimming not advised on the pd head, also the cost of stripping the head and the parts required on reassembly, such as the injector seals made it rather expensive, it was a 'quick fix' basically.

i renewed the water pump and cambelt on reassembly, talking of the run on pump, it worked periodically directly after renewing the head gasket (whirring after the engine switched off) but i dont recall hearing it for a while, although i can remember i think, testing its function with vag-com (unless im mistaken and it was something else)

the main problem is, although the car runs perfectly in every other way, gives good power and economy, we had our first frost this morning, as we are topping up the coolant with shall we say less than the reccomended 50/50 mix, we are facing the inevitable because antif freeze gets expensive when you are putting a litre or so in every day

thanks
scott

[Chrispb]

Hi
There are countless numbers of members on the other forums that have had heads refaced with total success, and is more like standard procedure.
Changing a whole engine is a bit extreme unless it's particularly high mileage or has other problems.

The run on pump cannot be tested with Vagcom, was you thinking of the booster heater? as the pump is also required for correct running of the booster and rear compartment heater.

[stred]

yeah thought i was mistaken about that, but the run on pump definately not working now.

gotta have a serious think about what to do as we need the car and cant afford it off the road for any serious amount of time.

plus found some horrible rust in the bottom of the a pillar today where it joins the sill

for you advice

scott